Terms & Conditions

Our role in providing our services to you:

We are agents for expedition cruise operators worldwide (Cruise Operators) and seek to introduce you to unique cruise and related experiences offered by them to their passengers in some of the most remote and beautiful settings in the World.

Our role is to introduce you to expedition cruise experiences that may be of interest to you and to facilitate your bookings and, if required, your related travel, onshore activities and accommodation requirements.

If you ask us to make a booking with a Cruise Operator we will provide you with their terms and conditions for carriage of passengers (Cruise Operators Terms) before you commit to the booking.

When you commit to a booking you do so in terms of the Cruise Operators Terms. Nothing in these terms and conditions is intended to vary or modify the Cruise Operators Terms.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

All bookings and travel arrangements that we make on your behalf are made by us in terms of these Terms and Conditions. When you make a booking with us you agree that you are bound by our Terms and Conditions. It is therefore important that you read these Terms and Conditions carefully.

1. Confirmation / Deposit / Currency

When you instruct us to make a booking for you, we will endeavour to book the tours or travel services requested by you as soon as possible and when we have done so we will send you a Confirmation Invoice. Please note that a booking is not confirmed until you receive a Confirmation Invoice from us.

Within 7 days after you receive a Confirmation Invoice you must pay to us a deposit in an amount equal to 20% of the invoiced amount. If your booking is made within 90 days of the date of travel, full payment must be made not later than 7 days after receipt of the Confirmation Invoice.

Our Cruise Operators and/or service provider’s terms and conditions may require other payment terms in which event they will apply and we will draw these to your attention in our Confirmation Invoice.

It may be a requirement of our Cruise Operators and/or service providers that passengers complete medical questionnaires and sign acceptances of their terms of travel at the time the booking is made. You must comply with these requirements at the time you pay your deposit.

Expedition Cruise Specialists accepts payment of cruise and tour fares by bank transfer and selected credit cards. Should you make payment by credit card any merchant fees incurred by Expedition Cruise Specialists Pty Ltd will be added to your invoice.

All prices are per person in Australian Dollars (AUD) inclusive of GST (if applicable) unless otherwise indicated.

2. Final Payment

Payment of the balance of the Confirmation Invoice must be made to us no later than 90 days prior to the scheduled date of your departure. If payment is not made when due we have the right to cancel your booking and we are not obliged to give you any notice in this respect.

Note: In the event that our Cruise Operator’s and/or service provider’s terms and conditions require earlier payment terms these will apply and we will draw these to your attention in our Confirmation Invoice.

3. Making changes to your booking

You may wish to make a change to your booking after you have received our Confirmation Invoice and this may be possible if the change is permitted in the Cruise Operator’s and/or service provider’s terms and conditions.

The Cruise Operators and/or service provider may impose fees and charges and in that event you must pay these when due. You must also pay us a fee of AU$100 for each booking change made.

4. Cancellations and failure to embark

You may cancel your booking with us by giving us written notice of your wish to do so at our address shown in these conditions and if you do so you will be obliged to pay us a Cancellation Fee calculated as follows:

(a) If you cancel your booking with us 120 days or more before the scheduled departure date our Cancellation Fee will be an amount equal to the Deposit plus any administration costs incurred by us such as bank fees and charges; and,

(b) If you cancel your booking with us within the period 119 days and 91 days before the scheduled departure date our Cancellation Fee will be an amount equal to one half of your ticket or booking price plus any administration costs incurred by us such as bank fees and charges; and,

(c) If you cancel your booking with us within the period 90 days and the scheduled departure date our Cancellation Fee will be an amount equal your ticket or booking price.

(d) If you cancel your booking with us following notification from us of a price increase to your fare as provided in condition 5 below no Cancellation Fee will be incurred and your Deposit will be refunded without deduction.

Our Cancellation Fees will be greater if fees and charges are imposed on us by the Cruise Operators and/or service providers as these must be paid by you and will form part of any applicable Cancellation Fee. These charges are sometimes made if, for example, there is a late cancellation during high season or when you have been allowed a discounted fare. These are requirements imposed by the Cruise Operator and/or service provider and we will endeavour to provide you with details in this respect at the time you make your booking.

Important: Your fares will be forfeited and you may not be entitled to a refund of any part of them in the event that you fail to embark on the booked cruise on the scheduled date of departure through no act or omission on our part or the part of the Cruise Operator. In this event the Cruise Operator’s terms and conditions will apply. In some instances Cruise Operators may permit a transfer of your booking to another departure date and may charge a fee for doing so which you must pay when making this change. You must also pay us a fee of AU$100 for each change made by us for you in this respect.

Merchant and/or Bank fees and charges incurred by us as a result of a cancellation or alteration of a booking must be paid to us by you and if applicable you authorise us to deduct these from any applicable refund.

You will not be charged a Cancellation Fee if you cancel your booking as permitted in item 5 below.

5. Fare changes

Fares are calculated at the date of booking. After your booking is made government tariffs, taxes and other unexpected costs may be imposed on us or the Cruise Operator and/or service provider. We will provide you with particulars of these costs should they apply. You agree to pay these when we invoice you for them as part of your fare which will be deemed to be varied and increased by the amount of these costs.

If the resultant price increase is 10% or greater than the fare payable in the Confirmation Invoice you may cancel your booking by written notice to us given within 7 days of our written notification of the increase and in that event the fare paid by you will be refunded without deduction.

Expedition Cruise Specialists’ website features a currency conversion tool which displays cruise fares in multiple currencies. The displayed fares are approximate and for information purposes only and do not reflect real-time bank foreign exchange rates or the exact amount you will be charged. Please check with your bank or credit card provider should you require specific information regarding exact exchange rates.

6. Risk, Responsibility and Travel Insurance

Our services comprise offering you expedition cruise experiences as an agent for the Cruise Operators, making your bookings for the cruise and if applicable booking connecting travel and required accommodation.

You agree that Expedition Cruise Specialists is not responsible for the negligent acts or omissions of the Cruise Operators and/or service providers, their servants and agents and:

If you are unable to travel, embark or participate in your booked cruise or activity for any reason not caused by or arising from the negligent act or omission of Expedition Cruise Specialists; and/or,
If you suffer loss and damage to your person or property before, during or after the booked cruise activity not caused by or arising from the negligent act or omission of Expedition Cruise Specialists;

Expedition Cruise Specialists is not responsible to you for any cost, loss or damage you may suffer as a result and is not liable to indemnify you for any loss, damage, cost or expense you may sustain or suffer as result thereof and you agree to indemnify and keep us indemnified from any claims made against us in this respect.

We strongly recommend that you effect and take out travel insurance with a reputable insurer to cover you for your costs, losses or damages should events of this nature occur.

When making your booking you undertake to us that you will obtain travel insurance to cover personal injury, medical expenses, third party risk, baggage loss / damage,â€¨and the cancellation / curtailment of travel. It is also strongly recommended that insurance coverage be extended to include remote area evacuation and / or repatriation (on some expeditions this is an express condition that must be complied with by you before you embark).

7. Documents, Passports and Visas

You must procure all necessary and required travel documents, including a valid passport, visas, health / vaccination certificates and import licenses at your own cost. We do not offer you advice about these requirements. You should ensure that you are aware of any of official travel advice regarding you cruise area and destination.

8. Health

You must disclose to us and the Cruise Operator and/or service provider any medical condition or disability that might affect your ability to participate in the booked cruise or activity. You may be required to complete a medical questionnaire for Expedition Cruise Specialists or any of its suppliers and agree that you will co-operate and do all things that may be necessary in this respect. We reserve the right to decline to make travel arrangements for you in the event that we are advised that your medical condition or disability might preclude your ability to participate in the booked cruise or activity.

9. Data Protection

Expedition Cruise Specialists will store and use the personal data supplied by you on our booking forms for the purposes of fulfilling the contract between us. We will never pass on your information to third parties, other than to fulfil the contract between us, without your written permission. We will also use the information to keep you informed of our services and any special deals which we think may be of interest to you. Please inform us at the time of booking if you do not wish us to use your information in such ways.

Should you have any concerns regarding our storage or use of your private data, please contact:

These terms and conditions are for the benefitâ€¨of us and you and our respective successors and permitted assigns.

11. Claims and Complaints

We are a service provider and are concerned to ensure that you enjoy and are satisfied with the services both we and our Cruise Operators provide to you.

If you are at all dissatisfied with the services provided to you we invite you to advise us about that as soon as the issue arises. It is important that you do so as we may not be able to adequately respond to the issue if there is any delay in your reporting it to us.

We will use our best endeavours to respond to any complaints or concerns promptly and to do all that we can to rectify any act or omission on our part that may have given rise to your complaint.

12. Applicable Law

Should any provision of these Terms and Conditions be contrary to or invalid by virtue of the laws of Queensland or the Commonwealth of Australia or for any other reason the relevant provision will be deemed to be severed from these Terms and Conditions and shall be of no effect but all remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed in all respects by the laws of Queensland and the client agrees that any claims or disputes between the client and Expedition Cruise Specialists in connection with these Terms and Conditions shall be commenced, led and litigated before a Court of proper jurisdiction in Queensland and if possible in the City of Cairns.

What we say

"Join the Catalyst to see a different side of Alaska. When you board this historic small ship you instantly feel at home - and an outstanding crew work tirelessly to provide you with an unforgettable Alaskan experience. Highly recommended!"

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